Surgery scoop sparks rows over equality and equity

A scoop revealing that ethnicity is factored into Auckland-region surgery waiting lists sparked strong reactions against 'race-based healthcare' and claims that Māori and Pacific patients were "getting to the front of the surgery queue." But it turned out to be nothing new - and the formula might actually mean patients' ethnic background has less impact on waitlist positioning.A scoop revealing that ethnicity is factored into Auckland-region surgery waiting lists sparked strong reactions against 'race-based healthcare' and claims that Māori and Pacific patients were "getting to the front of the surgery queue." But it turned out to be nothing new - and the formula might actually mean patients' ethnic background has less impact on waitlist positioning. "Auckland surgeons are sounding the alarm over a new equity index-based waiting lists that critics are labeling divisive," Newstalk ZB's news at 5am declared on Monday, leading with a scoop from its political journalists Jason Walls and Barry Soper. "The new system uses five categories to place patients on a medical waitlist, including clinical priority, time, speed, waiting location and deprivation level. But it's the fifth category - ethnicity - that's raised concerns," Newstalk ZB reported.That scoop also filled the front page of its stablemate, the New Zealand Herald under the heading: 'Surgeons express unease at new scoring tool, describing it as ethically challenging'.The concern of those unnamed Auckland surgeons quickly kicked off a bigger political debate about 'race-based health' care. By 10am, the National Party had declared "Race Has No Place In Surgical Decisions." ACT launched a campaign to "end race-based waitlists."By the end of the day, the PM had said he had asked his health minister to take another look at the policy. The Equity Adjuster Score (EAS) aims to reduce inequity by re-prioritising patients according to a balance of those five factors. Māori and Pasifika were top of the ethnicity list, while European New Zealanders and other ethnicities were lower-ranked, they said. But it was only ethnicity ZB's listeners were hearing about. "Māori and Pacific Islanders waiting for surgery are being moved to the top of the very lengthy hospital waiting lists," Early Edition host Kate Hawkesby told her listeners shortly after the news broke. She was echoing the news story on the Newstalk ZB website under the headline: 'Auckland surgeons are being dictated to on ethnicity grounds over who should go under the knife first'…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details